Sincerity That Can't Be Given
by mikasa-heichou
Summary: He rolled the cigar between his lips. It's earthy taste stained Levi's tongue as he shuffled through the hundred dollar bills between his calloused hands. It was tough, Mikasa pondered, but they made it. The only thing she was left wondering now, is how long they were gonna live a life of severe crime before she could break off and live a normal life. Hitman AU. [Eremika]
1. Chapter 1

_**Trigger warning:**_ _Mentions of smoking and cigars, alcohol, slight torture, and fatal car crashes. Click away if that's not your cup of tea._

* * *

He rolled the cigar between his lips. It's earthy taste stained Levi's tongue as he shuffled through the hundred dollar bills between his calloused hands. He counted, _one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,_ and that made a stack. Again, one through ten, another stack. He and Mikasa paged through the thousands of American hundred dollar bills before there were none left and they all sat on the table patiently, waiting to be inventoried.

"Thirty-five grand flat." Mikasa affirmed and stole a puff from her brother's cigar, much to his displeasure. "Between the two of us, that's $17,500. A little less than what I'm used to, but I guess I'm not complaining."

"I am." Levi drawled, and took another puff. "We deserved at _least_ fifty grand. That son of a bitch was hard to take out, and I almost couldn't plant the poison properly before he got back." He began splitting the pile in half with Mikasa's help. His fingers moved quickly, laced with experience. Across from him, Mikasa watched, mesmerized, by the way the green of the bills began blended together to form gray the faster her brother shuffled through them.

"Money is money, aniki." She sighed and took her half to be bounded together with a rubber band later.

"True, but we kill people for a living. We put our lives on the line for that pathetic, short, little man everyday. For his personal problems, too. We should demand a raise."

"And ask for what? Double the pay?" Mikasa scoffed and brushed off his suggestion. She wasn't arguing, but the idea seemed so far-fetched.

"You say that like it's not possible." He raised an eyebrow.

"Because it's not," her eyes rolled, "Fritz paid us this little today because he already gave us a downpayment of ten grand. We can't get greedy here. You know he's quick to replace his men."

Levi leaned back in his chair and pulled at his collar, suddenly feeling like the air around him was too hot. He blew smoke out of his mouth before speaking, "Maybe he is. But we're Ackermans, you can't find people as strong as us anymore. We're too valuable to him and he knows it."

"I don't know, Levi. We may be strong, but that man is cold and deranged. There's little to no negotiating with him. We overstep just an inch and we could become one of his targets. Besides, you know how well he can cover up his kills; he makes each one look like a little accident. Maybe that's why his little girl ran away to Busan and never came back." She shrugged and stole his cigar again. Mikasa knew Historia when she was younger. Rather, when she was a normal kid and went to school. Historia came skipping towards her during lunch one day, asking if she wanted company because the small raven-haired girl looked lonely.

"Oi, light your own, brat. I remember Historia from when you brought her over. Such a good heart, it's a wonder how her father is the complete opposite." He snatched it back from her when she finished with a smirk. The taste of wood lingered on her mouth and she frowned. "If you don't like how it tastes, then stop taking mine."

"Why don't you get the spice ones next time? Cinnamon is my favorite." She suggested.

"Disgusting. Buy it with your own money, then, I hate cinnamon." He tossed her a cigar which she caught and placed it between her pink lips.

"You hate everything." Her speech was muffled, "And why does everyone hate cinnamon?"

"I don't hate you."

"Gross. Stop." She laughed. Silence took over the air between them- that, and the smoke. Mikasa frowned, deep into thought. It was true, being a hitman was what she did for a living. She wasn't necessarily proud of it, but there was no other way to live in Daegu as unemployed orphans. Even when her brother had become her legal guardian, Mikasa saw how difficult it was to support them both unless she contributed.

The younger Ackerman wasn't gonna work at a fast food restaurant either, for she wasn't the biggest fan of social interaction. In fact, she remembered Levi saying:

"If you want a job, then put your strength to good use. Work for Mr. Fritz with me." He tried convincing her time and again, but it was obvious to him that his little sister was hesitant. "Look, things are different now, Mikasa. Mom and dad aren't around anymore to provide for us. We're on our own. And no company or boss is gonna hire a couple of street rats off the bat. This is our only choice." Mikasa remembered feeling scared, nervous, a hundred emotions at once because _God_ she barely had any time to grieve her parent's death before she had to worry about surviving. She was only sixteen, barely learning to drive, and it had only been a month after she lost both her parents in a brutal murder.

"What's up with you?" Levi interrupted her train of thought, "If you leave it in your mouth too long it'll get soggy."

Mikasa took the roll out of her mouth and brought its flame to a halt against the ashtray. "Nothing." She lied.

The nineteen year old took a quick look at her surroundings. The dim orange light from the one lamp they owned illuminated the room. Honestly, it gave her a headache; she hated that shade of orange. Behind her, a large glass door took up most of the wall and gave her a view to the busy streets of downtown Daegu. Their apartment was small, minimalistic, but it was more than enough for the siblings. Nothing hung on their walls. Their money went to insurance- health insurance, car insurance- food, water, electricity, everything they wished they had growing up.

It was tough, Mikasa pondered, but they made it. The only thing she was left wondering now, is how long they were gonna live a life of severe crime before she could break off and live a normal life.

"Levi," she called out. The said man hummed in response. "Are we ever… are we ever gonna get to that night? You know, with mom and dad?

His face dropped, his aura suddenly shifting to a darker mood. "Soon, Mikasa. As soon as we get our hands on those tapes."

"That's the only thing keeping us from finding them?"

"Essentially, yeah." Levi answered. "They won't give them to us even if we're their fucking kids. Says it's confidential or whatever. Such bullshit." He puffed.

"Huh." Mikasa glanced at her briefcase on the lumpy couch as ideas ran a million miles an hour through her head. The young woman was frowning, debating with herself before she got up, snatching the suitcase and slipping her shoes back on.

"Oi, where do you think you're going?" Levi demanded, flinging the butt of his cigar at her head.

"I need to handle something really quick." she shook the ashes out of her hair with annoyance.

"This late at night? With the suitcase I _know_ has your favorite scalpel in it? Mikasa, whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait."

"It's been waiting for two years, Levi. I'm settling this now."

"Are you- are you seriously going on a hit?" He stood from his chair, "And put a jacket on, you're dressed indecently."

"No, I'm not." Mikasa answered, shoving him back down and ignoring his comment on her state of dress. "I'll be quick, I promise. Don't wait up, Aniki." and she began heading out. Halfway through the door, she turned her head over her shoulder and looked back at her brother, "Also, it's not a hit if I don't kill anyone."

* * *

If Levi's usual persistence and unnecessary aggression wasn't going to get them the records from that night, then Mikasa was going to have to use her own methods of persuasion. But as she glanced down at the man keeping the tapes of her parents' brutal murder, getting a full whiff of the booze on his collar, she couldn't help but think twice about her approach. Maybe she should skip straight to the torture.

"Hannes-san," Mikasa was batting her eyelashes, leaning over the counter and giving the old man working for the traffic cameras a whiff of her perfume, "Please? I really need those tapes."

"Darling, I really can't." Hannes answered, though it seemed he was rather interested in something else. "Although," he continued, "I think I can bend a few rules and maybe… perform a trade." His voice was hoarse from the cigarette smoke poisoning his lungs.

A fake giggle slipped past her lips, "Hannes-san, aren't the cameras filming?" _Ew_ , she thought to herself, Levi would kill her if he was here. The blond man, his cheeks tinged with pink, grinned one of the ugliest smiles Mikasa has ever seen in her life.

"I can turn them off just. For. You." And he did. With a simple flick of his wrist, he unplugged the cord in the wall that powered on all the security cameras.

Perfect.

The security guard eyed Mikasa with an eerie smile, causing her to cringe inwardly. Instead, she feigned a smile and swung herself behind the counter with him.

Hannes began to sit up to cop a feel, but she roughly pushed him back down to the swiveling chair. The goal, Mikasa had set prior to stepping foot into the building, was to make the least amount of physical contact with him. Again, the man began to sit up only to be met with his ass back in the seat.

"You're a feisty one." Hannes commented. She bit the urge to roll her eyes as she shrugged her coat off her shoulders. Much to her disdain, his drunken eyes raked up and down her athletic figure. She hummed in agreement and swooped down to plant a kiss on his cheek. It was slow and lingering, making him want more. It was only when he turned his head to plant a fat kiss on her mouth and his hands reached for her hips when she took hold of the nearest cable and wrapped it twice around his wrists, securing the knot firmly before he could touch her.

"Woah, woah! Hold on there, darling." Hannes tugged at his restraints, "I uh- didn't know you were into these kinds of things! Shoulda given me a warning at least. But I can't- I can't touch you like this, hon. And these are kinda tight. I'm old, you know."

"That's okay," Mikasa smiled wickedly, bringing her lips to his ear, "just let me do all the work, yeah? And then, you can give me what I want." Hannes blushed at her statement and nodded furiously. He could already feel the blood rushing southwards when she sunk to her knees, sliding a hand up his calf. Mikasa fumbled with the zipper of his pants and her breath was hot on his neck. She could practically feel Hannes shaking under her touch. The raven haired girl detached the radio from the waistband of his pants and removed all weapons from the garter as well. She had him completely disarmed.

Slowly, she began reeling back from him, never once breaking their eye contact. Hannes gazes up at her in confusion, his blue eyes still clouded with inebriation when the Ackerman stood at her full height above him.

"What are you-"

Her knuckles came into contact with his jaw and his stupid swivel chair was sent wheeling back and slamming into the wall behind him. His neck snapped in the opposite direction and Hannes felt his teeth sink into his tongue painfully. The impact had blood trickling down his nose and mouth, a look of shock spreading across his face.

"You fucking bitch!" He spat the blood onto the floor, "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Mikasa shrugged nonchalantly at the question.

"A lot of things, really." She reached for the slick black briefcase and opened it on the counter before him. His eyes widened at the plethora of knives, clamps, scissors, and the arrangement of blades all neatly organized in front of him. Mikasa's hand hovered over each blade, debating on each one as if this is how she regularly shopped. She finally stopped at the menacing karambit her uncle had given her. The knife's blade curved smoothly with its grip and safety ring customized specifically for her hand to use. Kenny had given it to her before disappearing off the grid completely.

Upon picking the knife up, Hannes felt his heart physically drop to his feet. "W-what are you doing?" He cried out. Mikasa ignored him, stepping closer to the restrained man.

"Wait, wait!" He desperately begged, "I'll tell you what you want to know! Just please don't hurt me!"

Mikasa frowned. "You're not even gonna resist a little? I haven't even started yet." She raised the curve of her blade to the inner part of his elbow and tightened her grip. The old man whimpered and squirmed in his seat.

"I promise!"

She dropped the knife, rolling her eyes. She hasn't done this in awhile, she was beginning to get rusty.

"Fine." Mikasa consented and set the blade back into the case.

"April 7, 2012, 2:29 am. A married couple drove down Munhwa-ro 67-gil right behind the Daegu bank. It was a hit and run and the opposing driver was under the influence. I need the surveillance records from that night."

"D-Daegu?! This is the Gangnam District, you crazy motherfucker! Why would I have-"

Mikasa picked up a straighter knife this time and twirled it to where the blade was facing down, driving it into his upper thigh. Hannes screamed, cutting off his own sentence and struggling against the cables that tied him tightly to the chair.

"Don't talk to me like that." She deadpanned, "At least, not when I have a multiplicity of knives in front of me." she cocked her head at him condescendingly, "I need those films, Hannes-san. But of course, if you're not interested in telling me, we can play a game instead."

"A- a game?" He inquired weakly.

"Yes, a game." She confirmed, "I call it 'Onion'. It's where I take my sharpest knife, and we get to see how many layers of skin you have. Last time I played, I counted three, obviously- if you paid attention in school- but the more calloused the skin is the more counting I have to do. So what do you say?"

* * *

Four o'clock in the morning rolled around and Mikasa quietly opened the door to their shared apartment. She slipped out of her shoes and attempted to make her way to her bedroom without making so much as a floorboard creak. As she reached for the handle, a voice stopped her short.

"Mikasa."

She jumped.

"Levi." She responded, turning around to see him laying down on the couch.

"I thought I told you not to wait up?" she set her case down on the coffee table and sunk into the couch next to him. Her shoulders dropped tiredly and she flexed her calloused fingers, sore from the constant grip on her knife.

"I didn't. I fell asleep, as you can see, but you're not as quiet as you think. I heard you walking up the stairs outside." Levi's voice was indeed husky with sleep as he swung an arm over his eyes. "There's blood on your shirt. What did you even do?"

Mikasa's gaze shifted down towards her top to where there were small freckles of blood decorating her once white blouse. She sighed. And they had just run out of bleach, too.

"How did you know that was me going up those stairs?"

"Come on. If you don't know which family member is walking by the way their footsteps sound, are you really family?"

She paused before mumbling, "Good point."

"You didn't answer my question." he drawled, still half asleep.

"Oh, yes." Mikasa began, and decided it'd be best just to lay it on him. "I uh, went down to the Department of Transportation and got my hands on mom and dad's accident."

"You what?" he was suddenly wide awake, sitting up on the couch and nearly ramming his forehead into his sister's shoulder.

"I got the tapes, Levi." she confirmed again.

"Uh? How?" his face contorted into disbelief, "I've been trying for two whole ass years."

"I know." She shrugged, "But your constant threats and assaults aren't gonna convince anyone anymore. You don't have a woman's charm." Mikasa flipped her hair over her shoulder dramatically to put emphasis on the last word. The elder suddenly felt his blood boil.

"If that old man's dick went anywhere near your mouth I swear to mom and dad I will make you swallow toothpaste." He jumped up and grabbed her shoulders, "Mikasa, did he touch you? What happened?"

Mikasa sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "No! Nothing happened, aniki, I just," she squirmed out of his grip, "I had to seduce him a bit, yeah, but it wasn't long before I resorted to torture. I just needed him to voluntarily tie himself down."

"You _what_?"

"If you ask 'what' one more time I'm going to lose my shit." Mikasa rolled her eyes, "I just played onion." She said sheepishly, like it was a normal day in her life. The younger woman reached into her coat pocket and retrieved a small black flash drive that she transferred the copy into. She placed it in Levi's hands.

"Christ, Mika. Did you kill him?" He still struggled to wrap his brain around the fact that his baby sister- the same girl who he's seen as a small child crying because not all the kids got the same sized slice of cake at her birthday party- seduced an old man and then tortured him for the tapes they had both been scrambling to get their hands on.

Mikasa faltered before nodding wordlessly. "He bled out."

Levi sighed, "I guess… we'll look over this tomorrow. I'll contact Hanji. Go get some sleep."

* * *

Sleep nowadays, ironically, felt like such a distant dream. Sleep nowadays consisted of them laying in their separate beds on their backs, eyes closed but their mind acutely aware of every noise skirting around them. From a tree tapping their window to footsteps stopping right in front of their door, the Ackermans slept with paranoia by their sides and a gun under the mattress.

So when the sun casted a warm orange glow through the four corners of Levi's empty room, his eyes merely shot open in awareness that another day had started anew. He rolled onto his bare side and groaned as he glanced around the room to scan for anything out of the ordinary.

The twenty-five year old made his way to the kitchen and rummaged through the refrigerator for some food. The fridge was getting awfully skinny. It was filled with nothing but milk, Arizona tea, eggs, and a few selection of spices. Levi sighed. Padding over to Mikasa's door, he knocked twice before swinging it open. The girl was burritoed within her blankets with a pillow over her head. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. She was not one to move around so much during the night, really only her head and legs shifting in her sleep.

"Geez, look at you. Sleep well?" his question hung in the air by a thread. She buried her head further under the pillow.

"No." She answered, resurfacing on top of the mess of sheets and pillows for air, "I couldn't get his screams out of my head." Levi's demeanor changed as he sat on the edge of the bed. He placed a hand on her hair sympathetically.

"I told you that's why we don't do that anymore. We're hitmen, Mikasa, not persecutors." he said softly.

"Ugh, I know." Mikasa rolled over, "The asshole just wouldn't give me what I needed."

"You're starting to sound just like me."

"Woah, I wonder why." She shot back dryly.

"The bitchy sarcasm must run in the family, huh?"

"Probably." And Levi shrugged.

"By the way. There's no food in the kitchen. We'll grab breakfast somewhere and then hit the grocery store." He suggested, shaking her fully awake and nudging her towards her closet, "Get ready. We'll leave in ten."

"Okay, okay." She pushed herself up, "What about the tapes?"

He paused at the doorway.

"Hanji is open for us at noon. I called in last night."

Mikasa eyed his exposed back warily. "Okay."

* * *

Mikasa didn't like grocery shopping because it reminded her too much of her mother. She picked up on a lot of her mother's mannerisms, for instance, the way she pushes the cart with her forearms, wipes down the handles with a disinfectant cloth, and even tries to get the best deal on paper towels which already cost a little over three thousand won.

She pushed around the cart filled with only essentials, mostly milk, cereal, pancake batter- the usual. Oddly domestic for hitmen, but hey, they liked pancakes, too. As the siblings finished up their list and Mikasa wheeled the basket into the express line, a scowl appeared across Levi's face when people will overflowing carts entered the line that clearly stated "fifteen items or _less_ ". His foot tapped impatiently.

"Levi." She called out. He looked at her. "Stop tapping your foot, it's making _me_ anxious."

"I just fucking-" he caught himself before he started yelling, "Fifteen items or less. _Less._ What does 'less' mean, Mikasa?"

"Levi-"

"What does fifteen items or less mean?"

"Oh my god- it means less than fifteen items, aniki." Her hand twitched at the sudden craving to hit him upside the head.

"Exactly."

"You know we'll make it to Hanji's. It's only half past eleven, we can drop the stuff off at the apartment really quick then go to her place. Relax."

Levi inhaled, held his breath for four seconds, then exhaled, and he felt his blood pressure slowly return to normal.

"Sorry." He muttered, "I just really need to see that fucker on tape. It's making me jittery."

"Well if it makes you feel any better," she spoke while setting the items on the conveyor belt, "at least we have less than fifteen items."

* * *

"Oi, shitty glasses, open up!" he later pounded on the door continuously. Then there was a shuffling behind the barrier and the door swung open, revealing Hanji in her signature ponytail and her glasses hanging on the collar of her shirt. She smiled brightly at the sight of the two. Despite Levi's strong distaste for a majority of the human population, Hanji was one of the very, very few people he cared about and trusted enough to tell her of his occupation.

"Levi!" and her gaze shifted towards the girl behind him, "And Mikasa! My favorite two people. Come in, please!" the pair shuffled in and took a look around her place. They weren't strangers to her usual messy apartment, it was just different in comparison to their spotless place.

"So," Levi spoke after settling down on the couch, "you got my text right?"

"I did!" Hanji responded, "And I dumped the burner phone just like you told me to. Don't worry. And I have the computers set up for the surveillance. Can I have the copy?" she held her hand out.

Mikasa reached into her pocket and dropped the flash drive onto her palm, watching the brunette pad over behind her computer desk and plug it in. Hanji typed away at the computer for some time before turning to Mikasa.

"Do you know what time the accident happened?"

"2:30 in the morning." She answered immediately. Her heartbeat quickened as Hanji nodded, tapping at the arrows to skip to the time. Levi stood up from the couch and joined the two behind the computer.

"Here it is." Hanji stepped away, "You ready?" she watched as the Ackermans exchanged a look and nodded silently. The younger sibling reached out to grip her brother's wrist as she prepared herself for the scene she was never able to witness herself.

The screen was fuzzy. It's movements were like a choppy and poorly put together stop motion movie. Black and white, showing an all too familiar white Hyundai driving slowly on the narrow, open road. Levi's throat tightened as another car approached. It was fast. Way too fucking fast, and it was swerving in and out of their lane. Mikasa felt her blood boil and her vice grip tightened around Levi's wrist.

Their parent's car slowed down to a stop at the sight of the erratic car, pausing before cautiously moving forward. Hanji could see the person in the passenger seat of the Hyundai on the phone, probably with the police.

Suddenly, the car opposite of the Ackerman's gained tremendous speed, and the driver lost control of the vehicle and rammed it's nose right into the driver's side of the white car. The impact sent the car flying to the side, rolling over once before crashing into a neighboring building.

Hanji swallowed thickly, feeling as if she were intruding. She looked to her side at the heartbroken siblings, watching as their eyes were glued to the screen. Hanji knew they were just waiting for a face to show up.

The car being controlled by the drunk was completely crumpled at the front, yet barely denting into the cage. The drunken driver stumbled out of the vehicle and landed on the gravel on his hands and feet, emptying his stomach's contents on the road below him. He looked up, his eyes meeting the demolished car in front of him and the blood dripping out of the car. The young man stood from the ground and staggered backwards. He looked at his hands. Then behind him, then took off running- or rather hobbling- back where his car came from. Briefly, he looked up and into the camera for a fraction of a second before leaving the premises of the accident.

Levi pressed the spacebar to pause the video. He said nothing, and neither did Mikasa. He rewinded the video right before the man fled, waiting for the perfect moment to pause it. Then it was there, for the split second the idiot had the balls to look into the camera, Levi stopped it.

"Hanji." He said darkly and stepped away from the computer, "Can you find him for me?"

"Yes-" she choked, "Uh, yeah. I can."

She turned away from the siblings to give them a moment as she scanned for his face. Mikasa pivoted to look at him.

"Aniki." It was almost a whimper.

"I know." He responded, not needing to hear anymore. He brushed off a stray tear from his sister's face and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "We'll get that piece of shit."

Mikasa nodded and looked away to swipe at her tears, sniffling when Levi rubbed her back soothingly despite his own heart clenching in despair.

Hanji's fingers flew through the keyboard while the siblings stood in silence. The brunette zoomed in on his license and checked the owner of the car, tracking down his current work and home address and seeing nothing on his criminal record except driving under the influence and involuntary vehicular manslaughter. Hanji let out a shaky breath and pulled up his picture.

"Levi, I got him. But!" She covered her computer before they could get their hands on the information, "Hear me out. I just wanted to say, if this has anything to do with Fritz or work, I strongly suggest you reconsider. Look, I know it's not my place to say any of this, but if you're thinking about going out and killing this kid then you need to be careful. I loved working with the two of you, you truly were the best teammates, but I left because Fritz cheated me of my profits and benefits time and time again and I'm afraid it'll happen to you, too. He can cover his tracks impeccably well, but it's only a matter of time before someone digs too deep."

Hanji paused before continuing, "The only reason no one stands up to Fritz is because they're scared of him and what he can do. Fritz acts like the mastermind of this whole network, but really, he hides behind his men and will make them fall on their sword for him."

The pair stood in silence for awhile. They let her words sink in, and if it weren't for all the teamwork and trust they builded up, they would have let her words go in one ear and out the other. Levi nearly reconsidered, because it had been so long ago and they already had their lives built up from scratch, was he really willing to compromise that now? Mikasa's voice brought them to a consensus nevertheless.

"Thank you, Hanji, but I'm afraid Levi and I have already made up our minds. We want him gone, and that's final."

Hanji's shoulders slouched in defeat, "As you wish." She turned the screen towards them and took a step back.

The two siblings ran their eyes over the screen like hungry dogs, eating up as much information as they could.

Mikasa opened her mouth to speak, her voice dropping to a dangerous tone. "Eren Jaeger. Now nineteen years old, and lives in Daegu."

The older man felt his face twitch at the name. "Huh." He read the last line of the description, "The motherfucker owns a convenience store."

* * *

 _A/N: "Aniki" means brother. As you probably know by now, Isabel called Levi that and I thought it was so cute I had to use it._

 _I really tried to make this as accurate as possible so now my search history looks so sketchy haha. I ended up looking things up I never would have imagined typing in. I loved writing this story so much, and truth be told, watching Criminal Minds helped me plan this out! I hope you enjoyed as much as I did, leave me some love in the reviews~_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Trigger warnings:**_ _Mentions of death, murder._

* * *

It was a hard video to swallow. All they had gotten from the police two years ago were merely graphic descriptions and puzzle pieces to the crime, but now that the puzzle was put together, the big picture wasn't nearly as satisfying as they imagined. There was no way to tear it apart and forget it, either; the image was now burned into their memories. Levi sat on the couch later that evening and watched his sister pace back and forth of the living room. Holding the flashdrive in one hand and a butterfly knife in the other, she twirled with the blade to ease her anxiety. Most people fidgeted with a stress ball or picked at their nails, but this was Mikasa. She was not at all like most people.

"You better not let go of that and accidentally kill me." the elder drawled, which earned a sigh from the latter as she sat down next to him.

"You need to be more upset about this." She bit out. Her shoulders hunched in thought.

"Excuse me?" he raised a brow, "I just watched my parents die. Of course I'm fucking upset."

"No, no," her tone softened, her eyes following the curve of her knife slowly. Mikasa held the thing close to her heart, treasuring it since it was the only thing she had left of her crazy Uncle Kenny. Damn, they really were the last of the Ackermans. "I mean, are you not thinking of that Jaeger kid? How is he still not in jail for fucking manslaughter? How is he just walking the streets freely without a care in the fucking world?"

"You're saying that as a hitwoman." he pointed out.

"Levi, you know what I mean." The knife hung on her middle finger carelessly, yet she seemed to have complete control over the deadly weapon.

"I do," he answered, and took the knife from her hand cautiously and placed it back in the case she kept it in. "You shouldn't hold that knife while you're pissed, it freaks me out. And you know how unjust the police force is, Mikasa, he probably only served two years in prison for vehicular manslaughter, depending on how good his lawyer was. Then he probably got his license taken away. Maybe that's why the fucker owns a shop. Because now he can't amount to anything better anymore."

"Right. So when do we kill him?" she glanced at him over her shoulder.

"Impatient, much?" Levi replied, "We should head over to Fritz tonight and see if he can fund this hit. It's gonna cost a lot more than we'd expect-"

"Why would we ask him to fund us? We can't just do this on our own?"

" _Mikasa._ " he warned, "What did I tell you to keep in mind when executing a hit?"

"Patience." Mikasa grumbled. Truth be told, sometimes she hated being the little sibling. Right now she wanted nothing more but to stomp her foot and storm into her room, but things were drastically different now. She was an adult, she had to remind herself. She had a responsibilities now, even more than before.

"Exactly. Patience. If you rush into this, it could blow our cover. Not to mention it wouldn't be as satisfying as we want it to be. Enjoy the moment." Levi flicked her forehead as a reminder. "Put your shoes on, we're heading over to Fritz."

"You know, you talk a lot about patience for someone who can't even handle the express line. You should practice what you preach."

"It's an express line! And nobody uses it for its actual purpose!"

* * *

"Hey, old man." Levi greeted as he walked through the dingy door of this so-called office. He cringed at the smell of marijuana and old cigarettes.

"Try again." Fritz raised an eyebrow. Their boss sat behind his desk, bricks of money sitting on either side of the wood were being inventoried by one of his employees as he puffed a cloud of smoke from his mouth. Mikasa always wondered if his beard perpetually smelled like smoke considering how frequently he does it.

"Mr. Fritz," Mikasa interrupted before Levi started anything, not even five minutes into the meeting, "we apologize for coming so spontaneously. We had a favor to ask of you." She spoke respectfully. Beside her, Levi eyed her weirdly for being so polite. He made a face of disgust.

"See that?" her boss glanced at the elder sibling, "You should learn respect like your sister. Would it kill you to get some manners? Don't tread on thin ice, Ackerman, I can dispose of you anytime."

"Sure," Levi answered dully, "but that would be bad for business, wouldn't it? You can't get rid of your best products." Mikasa rolled her eyes.

"You forget I have Annie Leonhart as well. You may have a high kill count, Levi, but your skills still belong to me, so don't get cocky. Now," he put the cigarette out on the may glass ashtray beside him, "how can I help my favorite pair of siblings?"

"Mikasa and I want to assassinate someone and we need your help to fund us on the trip." Levi put it bluntly.

"Aniki, wait-"

"Quite the ambition you have there, Levi." Fritz eyed him down, "Who is it?"

"Eren Jaeger. Nineteen years old, lives in Daegu." His response was immediate.

"Why should I help you?" The old man swiveled slightly in his chair, beginning to lose interest since he had nothing to gain, "I don't even know the child, and you expect me to give you thousands of won to go on a vacation in Daegu?"

"Mr. Fritz, it's not a vacation if it's purely for business." Mikasa pitched in.

"Business? I don't see how this pertains to me or my business, Mikasa." Fritz finally stopped spinning in his chair and leaned forward onto his arms. "And you never told me why you wish to assassinate this Jaeger kid."

Why they needed to explain themselves, Levi would never know. He tapped his foot impatiently. As much as Levi wanted to formulate a beautiful string of insults and spit them into Fritz's face, he bit his tongue and tried to explain.

"Fritz," he spoke, "this is the same kid that murdered our parents in a car crash two years ago." Pathos, Levi thought, was one effective way to get your audience to listen. At least, that's what he learned in class when he still gave a damn.

"Oh," his boss suddenly understood, his gaze softening only slightly, "so it's him, huh?"

"Yes." Mikasa affirmed, shooting Levi a glance that said: "you told him?"

Fritz paused. He stroked his beard deep in thought as he glanced at the pair in front of him. They carried themselves differently; with determination. Nothing like the usual stoic looks on their faces every time they accepted a hit. No, this time there was a certain hint of anger in their eyes, a bite in their tone. If only he could get that same look in their eyes when he hired them on purpose. The old man sighed.

"Very well." Fritz coughed out, "I suppose I can fund the both of you starting at the minimum amount for a hit. Come in again tomorrow. We will talk money then."

"Yes sir."

"Oh, and before I forget, I have a job for you, Levi, when you get to Daegu."

* * *

"Eren Jaeger." Mikasa thought out loud to herself later that night. She was dressed and ready for bed, but her antsy thoughts left her wide awake as she stared up at the ceiling. What did he look like? Mikasa began putting features together as if it were a character customization bit from a game. From Hanji's findings, he had short, brown hair and bright green eyes. A muscular face matched his broad shoulders, complemented with thick eyebrows and a sharp, pointed nose. However, everything else was up to imagination, and Mikasa was having quite a field day. She imagined him to be tall, but not taller than six foot. Toned, but not as muscular as Levi. Tanned skin, calloused hands, narrow hips-

"Mikasa!"

She was jerked out of her train of thought. The girl glanced at the open door and saw that Levi's light was still on.

"What?" her response hung in the air for a second.

"Come here." And she groaned.

"Why?"

"You do this every time. Just come here, please." The elder called out again.

"Fine." she grunted, swinging her feet over her sheets and shuffling over to her brother's room. Levi sat on the edge of his bed in his night clothes, shoulders hunched as if he were deep in thought. "What is it?"

"I've been thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself."

"Shut up." His eyes rolled, "We need to make a budget for this trip. Fritz's money will go to the train and the hotel expenses. Everything else has to be on us, so spend your money carefully." Levi handed her a sheet of paper with a list of train times and their prices; a shortened itinerary. Her eyes skimmed down the list before shooting him a look of confusion.

"Wait a minute, a hotel? How long do we plan on staying there?" Mikasa was leaning against the doorframe, shifting her long tresses behind her back.

"That's the other thing I wanted to talk to you about." Levi began and turned his body towards her, "I don't want Jaeger to have the luxury of a quick death. I want it drawn out. I want this kid to suffer."

"He's the same age as me, he's not a kid," she trailed off, stopping only when she saw him glare, "But I guess. So what does that mean?"

"Mikasa, how good are you at controlling your emotions?"

"When it doesn't involve you I'm fairly good at it. Why?" Mikasa padded over to join him on the edge of the bed, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Good. I want you to make him fall in love with you."

"Excuse me?" she gawked.

"Hear me out first. Make it painful for him. Like some Romeo and Juliet bullshit." He waved his hands in the air comically, "He needs to fall in love with you so hard, so you can break his heart when he watches you hold a knife to his throat."

Mikasa felt uncomfortable. It's not like this kind of deal was new to her. But the thought of something so sadistic coming out of her brother's mouth just wasn't sitting right with her. He never cared much about whether his methods were cruel or barbaric. In fact, Levi's style was more direct and efficient. And now that he was sitting here talking about a slow, painful kill, the younger Ackerman felt a little knot in her stomach.

"Aniki, that's… that's sociopathic."

"Maybe it is, but every single one of us are on a sociopathic spectrum. Even you." he answered, "Are you saying you can't do it?"

"No, I can still do it." Mikasa answered with determination, yet Levi still detected the uncertainty in his sister's voice nonetheless.

"Mikasa, be honest with me. If you can't do this then I will go do it myself, but I'm giving you the opportunity to avenge mom and dad for us."

Mikasa hesitated. Of course she wanted to avenge her parents and make her brother proud, and she wasn't a foreigner to the thought of taking someone's life. Hell, it's been her job for two years straight. Still, her resume only consisted of her putting bullets in people's heads without a second thought to how they felt. Her job was purely physical, but her family name was still far more important to her.

"I can do it. I promise." She reaffirmed, "Besides, Fritz has a job for you here. I'll handle Eren." And Levi nodded, ruffling her hair affectionately before pushing her off his bed.

"Good." Levi disappeared under his sheets and Mikasa fought to muffle a laugh. See, he slept with thick comforters to combat the cold in the winter time, and his small five foot three frame was instantly buried beneath four inches of stuffing and cotton. All of a sudden, Fritz's strongest hitman would turn into a harmless burrito at night. "Now go to bed. We're taking the earliest train tomorrow morning. Less people will see us, that way."

Mikasa headed out wordlessly.

* * *

They weren't foreigners to overpopulation. Being hitmen had them travelling all across the country- from India to the Philippines- they've seen overcrowdedness at its worst. Which is why she wasn't surprised at the elbow to elbow contact on the train to downtown Daegu. Nonetheless, Mikasa felt her knuckles twitch at the feeling of the snoozing man next to her breathe down her neck. She scowled and buried her chin further into her scarf. She scooted closer to her brother in the process who mimicked the same irked facial expression as her.

"Aniki," she whispered towards him, "how much longer?"

Levi glanced down at the watch adorning his wrist before looking back up at her, "Should be twenty minutes left." his elbow bumped into an old lady to his left and he sighed loudly, "This is gross. I'm taking a shower first when we get to the hotel."

"You always take a shower first, and I already called dibs."

"That's too bad." he scoffed, "I was born first. Therefore I shower first."

The woman opened her mouth to come up with something witty, but was interrupted by a feminine voice over the announcements.

"Attention all passengers," the man next to Mikasa woke up with a jolt, "we will be arriving in downtown Daegu in ten minutes. Please prepare to exit in an orderly fashion and remember to gather all your belongings."

Levi frowned, "That was quick."

"Bullet trains, huh?" The younger Ackerman commented as she pulled her bag closer to her chest.

* * *

Downtown Daegu seemed more simple than the extravagant Gangnam district that they called home. The smell of smoke filled her lungs from the street food and the ominous gas excreting from the motorcycles passing her. The large, bright signs beamed at her from the tall buildings and Mikasa had to blink a couple times to adjust. Next to her, Levi was taking a look around as well, scooting back for people to pass while listening to the traffic driveby. People filled the streets more than she realized when she stepped out of the hotel, and the humidity had her pulling on her collar a little more than she was used to.

"Okay," her brother spoke behind her, "when we find the shop he runs I'll be off watching to the side. Talk to him, and make sure he remembers your face."

Mikasa nodded.

"It's called Circle C." He held her by the elbow as they walked side by side down the street, "According to the map it's only a couple blocks from the hotel so you should be able to walk the distance whenever you pay him a visit."

"You never answered my question by the way." Her heels clicked against the pavement, "How long are we staying here?"

"At least a month, so that's how long you have with him." His sister sighed. The small shop labeled "Circle C" printed at the top in blue. Behind the counter stood a man with shaggy brown hair and turquoise eyes she could see all the way from where she was standing. A smile spread across his face that was directed towards one of his customers and Mikasa felt her stomach twist in anger. He didn't deserve to smile. Not after he took the life of two innocent people that had a family to go back to. Not after he took her life away from her.

"Hey." A voice interrupted her thoughts. Levi held her by the shoulders and looked at her firmly, "You said you could control your emotions, so prove to me you can, alright? I'm counting on you to make this work."

"Yeah," she regained her voice, "Yeah, I can do it. Now split up."

Levi strolled toward another street shop maybe half a block away selling tea. Mikasa rolled her eyes at her brother's choice of shops but was not at all surprised. Rolling her shoulders back and inhaling deeply, she slipped into a facade and approached the shop timidly.

"Hi." The raven haired woman greeted and ducked under the decorations hanging from the frame.

"Hello," Eren smiled brightly, "welcome to Circle C. Feel free to look around and ask questions."

And she did. There was a variety of merchandise being sold. From shirts with tacky fonts to old CDs, pirated movies, women's jewelry, and even branded- albeit fake- shoes were out on display to be sold. She quirked an eyebrow at a red scarf laying on top of an opened box. Mikasa picked up the fabric and felt the soft cotton, marveling at how warm it felt. It's been a while since she wore the black scarf Levi had given her, since it was so tattered and falling at the seams. She faltered and glanced at Eren.

Mikasa found herself slightly reeling back when his eyes bore into hers immediately; he had been observing her this whole time. His stare was unyielding, yet his eyes held no malicious intent. She had to give it to him though, he was very attractive. And his eyes are really pretty. And his mouth looked so _soft_ -

"Um," she began and stopped herself mid thought before her mind derailed once again, "how much for the scarf?" Mikasa held the fabric between her slim fingers and brought the product up to the counter.

"5,000 won."

She raised an eyebrow. Too much for a scarf, she decided. "2,500."

"Oh?" He cocked his head and smiled. Mikasa nearly decked him in the face for being a smug little shit. "A negotiator, huh. 3,000."

"2,750."

"3,000. Take it or leave it."

The woman rested her cheek on her palm, eyes bored before continuing. "Fine, three-thousand. But that's including this." Without breaking eye contact, she reached next to his forearm- which she had to admit, was _impressively_ muscular- and grabbed a lottery ticket. Mikasa placed the piece of paper on top of the scarf and smiled.

Eren glanced down, "A lotto ticket?"

"Yeah, why not?" she shrugged, and Eren agreed. He took the money she offered him and handed her the change. "Pleasure doing business with you…" she paused, hoping he would fill in the blank.

"Eren. Nice to meet you." He placed his hands on the counter and watched her as she put the scarf into her purse. "I must say, no one's bargained in my shop in a long time. You bring back memories, miss…"

"Mikasa." She finished, "Is this not a flea market?"

"Mikasa." the name rolled off his tongue smoothly and she almost scowled at how it sounded. "It is, that's why I'm surprised people don't try to bargain, I don't know, must be my good looks, makes the customers wanna pay in full."

"Weird thing to flex, but alright." She deadpanned and Eren raised an eyebrow, seemingly offended. "I mean, you're not hard on the eyes. But I highly doubt that's not why customers pay in full."

"Thanks. I'd say you're pretty attractive too." He leaned in closer, "And why's that?"

"They pity you, _Eren._ " She pulled away for a second to gesture towards to condition of the building. "Look at this place. It's not hard to come to the decision that you're… running on empty."

"You're very forward, aren't you?"

"Ah, I apologize for being so blunt. I just see things the way they are." Mikasa shrugged. Right, she was supposed to play nice. She almost forgot.

"Don't apologize, I like that." Eren waved her off, "You don't meet a lot of girls nowadays who are this real."

"Mm. And you don't meet a lot of guys who run a shop at nineteen years old."

"How'd you know?"

"Wild guess," Mikasa lied, "I could tell by your lack of facial hair."

"Hey! There are some people younger than me with jacked beards."

She grinned. "I also tend to befriend people my age."

"So we're friends now?" Eren grinned. He was genuinely entertained. He's never had a customer as thrilling as she was. Usually he was either tending to a thirty year old grabbing at cigarettes or chasing away a nine year old trying to steal a CD.

Mikasa didn't answer his question. Instead, she took a stray pen cap and began scratching at her lottery ticket. Eren watched with earnest and stifled a chuckle when the raven haired girl pouted at her loss.

"Better luck next time." He spoke, "There's no point in doing those kinds of things, anyway. People never win."

"Sure, it may be a one in a million chance, but there's still a chance. If you don't try, you won't win, Eren." Mikasa flipped the ticket over and began scribbling a number on the back, signing it with her name at the end. "What were the chances that I walked in to this particular shop today of all days? Besides, I didn't need a lottery ticket, I just needed an excuse to talk to you."

She slid over her number with a smile and watched his face now full of astonishment. Mikasa walked out of the small shop before he could glance at her again.

Oh, this was gonna be fun.

* * *

"How'd you do?" Levi asked later when they sat back in their hotel. He rubbed at his wet hair with a towel and leaned on one hip.

"Good. I gave him my number." She responded while rubbing out the sore balls of her feet.

"So he knows you now?"

"Yup." Mikasa reaffirmed and flexed her foot. "Wasn't that hard. Apparently he doesn't meet very many interesting people."

Levi watched her pitiful form massage her feet, "Why do you wear heels if they hurt so bad?" he hung his towel on the plush chair to dry overnight.

"When are you gonna stop criticizing my fashion choices?" She shot a glare towards her brother.

"When you are no longer under my roof," He smirked, "Which I know won't be for a long time considering how dependent you are." Levi teased.

"Ugh, fuck off." Mikasa sent a pillow his way but he dodged it with a laugh.

"Anyway." He spoke after some silence, "What's he like?"

"He's a cheeky little shit." She answered while changing into her sleeping clothes.

"Hm. What else?" Levi paused. "He strikes me as the fuckboy type."

"He is."

"And you're into it."

"What?" she looked at him, surprised. "I am not."

"Bullshit." He called out, "You walked out of that store blushing like a high school girl. I haven't seen that in years, something must have happened." Levi raised a brow at her reluctance to answer.

"You're not gonna like the answer." She said and he shrugged, waiting for her to spill. Mikasa hesitantly gave in, "He's charming, I guess." She admitted and refused to look him in the eyes. He would never let her live this down.

"Oh my _god._ " he groaned dramatically, and Mikasa tossed her head back in annoyance.

"You asked!"

"Mikasa, _he's_ the one supposed to be falling in love with _you_ not the other way around." Levi sent her a warning look.

"And he _will._ Give it time." She assured her brother, "Have some faith in me. If I have to play nice, I'm gonna make it believable."

* * *

Mikasa kept up her almost daily visits to his shop from then on. Walking over to his shop from the hotel constantly made her fairly familiar with the faces behind the stands or the ones that passed her on the way. The two had gotten quite comfortable with the area, and people were starting to know who they were. The other day, in fact, a little girl came prancing up to her as she briskly walked over to Circle C.

"Mikasa-unnie!" she had heard. When she turned around, her eyes landed on a little girl bouncing her way with a ball in her hands, "Will you play with us?" her big eyes shined with hope and the older woman felt her heart sigh at the sight. Still, she had business to attend. Mikasa had sunk to a crouching position, and placed a hand on top of the girl's pigtails.

"Maybe later, Christa. Unnie is busy right now."

"What about Levi-oppa?" Christa lifted herself to the balls of her feet despite already being eye-level with Mikasa.

"He's working at home, too. But," she gestured towards Eren's shop, "you can always visit the man in that shop and spend time with him. He gets very lonely. He almost has no friends." she whispered, adding that last part teasingly. Christa giggled.

"Okay, Unnie. I'll visit him sometime."

She found herself taking the familiar path to the quaint shop two days later, and subconsciously looking for Christa in the process.. Ducking under the ornaments from the doorway, she made eye contact with the brunet behind the counter.

"Hey stranger." He greeted.

"Eren," she nodded, "I got your text." she waved her phone in the air and walked up to the counter.

"You did," he nodded, "and you didn't respond?"

Mikasa quirked an eyebrow. "How was I supposed to respond to 'hey come over in ten?'" The Ackerman swung herself around the counter sat on the stool next to him, getting comfortable and ignoring the way Eren looked at her with fondness. Their friendship had gotten oddly comfortable following the two weeks they'd known each other; he appreciated her presence. She was someone he could trust.

"Well," Eren continued, "why don't you close the shop with me today? I'd like to take you somewhere tonight, if you don't mind." He paused nervously, and Mikasa's mouth hung slightly open at his forwardness.

 _Already?_ Mikasa thought. She faltered slightly but a smile tugged at her glossed lips.

"Um," she laughed and glanced down briefly, "I'll have to let my brother know where I'm going first but sure, I'll close with you."

"Oh yeah, of course!" Eren waved his hands dismissively. "Sorry, I had no idea you had a brother. You never mentioned him."

"Ah, his name is Levi." She told him, "I never really mention him to anyone because he's not really the type of person you introduce to people."

"Mm." Eren hummed in response, "Are you guys close?"

"Yeah, we're really close. He's all I have." She answered somberly.

"What do you mean?" He frowned.

"My uh, my parents aren't around anymore. Levi was my legal guardian." Mikasa leaned against the counter and wrapped her arms snugly below her breasts. "An accident took them away from me." She looked at him darkly and Eren felt himself squirm under her gaze.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He said quietly. Before she could respond, a short, blonde woman walked in. "Hey, Mrs. Arlert." He nodded towards her with a grin.

She looked at him and smiled warmly. "Hi, Eren. Oh, who's this? You never introduced me to your girlfriend." Her attention shifted to the Asian woman beside him.

The blonde woman readjusted the bag on her shoulder before sticking a hand out to introduce herself.

"N-no, no Mrs. Arlert- I- she's not- we're not-" Eren stumbled over his words, and waved his hands in front of him bashedly.

"I'm Mikasa." she shook her hand and chuckled, "And Eren and I are not dating. We're just friends."

"Oh! My mistake." Mrs. Arlert shifted so she now faced Eren, "Well I stopped by to check on you since I haven't seen you with Armin recently. But you seem pretty… dandy, so I'll let him know you're in good hands." She teased, chuckling at how Eren's mouth hung open.

"Mrs. Arlert I don't need to be monitored!" His arms crossed his chest, "I'm running my shop very well by myself."

"Is that why you ask me to come by everyday?" The girl next to him threw in.

"Mikasa," he breathed, exasperated.

"I'm teasing, Eren." She squeezed his shoulder and tossed her bag back on before making her way towards the exit. "I'm gonna run home and change really quick, I'll be back to help you close."

* * *

Back at the hotel, Mikasa briskly walked back to her room and skipped steps up the stairs to get to her brother.

"Aniki!" she whisper-shouted, barrelling through the door without knocking after fumbling with the room key. Levi whipped around quickly from his laptop and stepped into a defensive stance, only relaxing when he saw it was Mikasa.

"What the fuck." He gasped.

"Sorry." She began rummaging through her bag full of clothes for a new outfit, ignoring the look of disbelief Levi gave her from her side. "What were you doing?"

"Going over a hit Fritz wants me to do while I'm here." Levi answered. He turned around and closed his laptop.

"In Daegu?"

"Yeah. Someone named Erwin Smith." Levi eyed the man's profile.

And Mikasa hummed in response, "It's happening."

"Why do you think it's cool to say super short sentences to build the suspense?" He grumbled while Mikasa paired a blouse with a miniskirt and her scarf she bought from Eren the other day.

"He finally asked me out. Eren asked me to close the shop with him because he wanted to take me out afterwards." she began dressing herself from behind the bathroom door, listening carefully to her brother outside.

"Where exactly are you going?" Levi asked.

"I don't know yet," the woman in question shrugged, "he said it was a surprise. But I'll text you where I am when I get there." Her brother scowled in response.

"Hey, I know you can take care of yourself, but no funny business." He handed her a sheathed knife to be attached to her thigh under her skirt, which she took gratefully. "Call me if you need me. And be home by… one."

Mikasa rolled her eyes at that. "Yeah, yeah. I still have a curfew, really?"

"Yes," he replied smugly, "and don't forget what we're here for." The eldest added before Mikasa nodded wordlessly and headed out the door.

* * *

Closing the shop had been a success. It was well around eight in the evening and Mikasa felt a cramp in her legs from sitting behind the counter all day and checking out customers. She finally got the chance to meet some of his regulars other than herself, and met a couple interesting customers that Eren had to deal with more often than not. She had caught herself gazing at him with genuine interest a couple times; despite him being a murderer who makes shit decisions, Eren was pretty interesting, Mikasa decided.

"You ready?" He spoke after locking up the store.

"You still haven't told me where we're going." The raven responded, and hooked her arm around his when he held it out for her.

"It's a surprise." Eren said smugly.

They walked arm in arm until the train station. She groaned at the sight of another crowded car and Eren quickly caught onto her discomfort.

"Do you want to ride a different train?" He offered, but Mikasa shook her head politely and scanned the area for a seat. Alas, there was one open spot, but not another for Eren. "You can sit there, I'm fine standing." After Mikasa passed him a thank you and the brunet held onto the silver pole for stability, standing in front of his date with a hand in his pocket.

His ass was in her direct line of sight. Naturally, her eyes lingered.

 _Not bad._

"So, Mikasa," he turned around suddenly and faced her, "what's your typical first date like?"

Said woman glanced around at the current situation and raised an eyebrow. There was an elderly woman dozing off across from her. A teenage boy on his phone and bobbing his head to his music, which by the way, was being blasted. _I guess everyone was listening to No Limit._ Another man dressed in a suit was reading a book to her left, and a young woman tapping away at her messages on her right. And of course, in front of her, stood her Prince Charming.

"We're discussing this now? I thought you already had something planned out." She called him out teasingly.

"I do, I do," he raised his one hand defensively, "I'm just trying to get an idea for your standards." Mikasa chuckled at his answer.

"I don't… really know. As long as it's nice and relaxing, and with someone I trust. I'm not really into loud music or huge crowds, so there's that. Umm..."

"Mikasa Ackerman." Eren crouched down to her level. "Have you never been on a date before?" Her gaze hardened.

"So what if I haven't?" She challenged, "I was busy doing my homework and worrying about my brother while everyone else was fucking in hidden alleys."

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing," Eren said gently, "but it is hard for me to imagine someone as charming and beautiful as you never go on a date before. Surely you've been asked out before, yes?"

"Plenty of times." She affirmed quickly, her mind darting to Jean, and old acquaintance. "My high school was full of pesky little boys, but my acceptance rate was zero."

He laughed at that.

"So what makes me different?" It was a loaded question.

 _Well, you killed my parents and I'm only doing this so I can kill you and watch you fall._ She clenched her jaw.

"Because I like you," she lied. Mikasa watched as he brightened at her answer.

"Good, because I like you too." He stood back up. "And don't worry, I'm gonna make this the best first date."

* * *

 _A/N: A lot of the dialogue between Mikasa and Levi is based around my relationship with my older sister, so I hope to keep the authenticity of it haha. I originally said it'll be three chapters, but it will likely be more than that. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did! Leave me some love in the reviews~_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Trigger warnings:**_ _Attempted robbery, violence and gun use_.

"Are your feet okay?"

"They're fine, Eren."

"It's a little more of a walk, are you sure-"

Mikasa stopped in her tracks and turned to him wordlessly. She reached out and locked her arm with his, tugging him along to prove that she was able to walk perfectly fine in her three-inch heels. She laughed inwardly at how Eren and Levi underestimated her in these shoes.

"Lead the way," she urged him forward. With a smile, he continued.

The music that was once faded crescendoed upon their approach. The young woman immediately recognized the tunes playing; memories of her father strumming the guitar chords to artist's song "If It Hurts Too Much, It's Not Love" played in her mind and her heart squeezed at the memory of her father strumming and plucking to the song.

"Kim Kwang Seok," she thought out loud, facing Eren, "you took me to Kim Kwang Seok Alley." She said gently.

Eren nodded, "You mentioned it a couple times in the shop a while ago. I thought it'd be nice to take you to his memorial, you know, to relive the music."

Mikasa smiled up at him and fiddled with the maroon scarf, "Thank you Eren."

He choked. Fuck, she's gorgeous.

"I- It's no problem." Eren said sheepishly and tugged her along the paved road. Her eyes traced along the walls of the alley that were beautifully painted with portraits of the artist. Lights were strung up above them which illuminated every corner and offered a warm atmosphere to young musicians strumming their acoustic guitars. People on the sides of the street were singing along to a couple of his most famous songs, dancing with their significant other while their bodies intertwined lovingly with the music. Mikasa felt her curiosity heighten with every couple she saw together. She briefly wondered what it would feel like to be one of them, wondered what it would be like to wear her heart on her sleeve like a vast majority of girls her age did.

Eren, who seemed to pick up on her lingering eyes, pulled her aside on the dance floor and stepped in front of her. She looked up at him with bright gray eyes.

"Dance with me?" He held her palms gently. Mikasa stared blankly at the invitation. _Bold, Jaeger._

"If you insist," she answered with a small smile, "but I apologize in advance if I step on your feet."

Eren chuckled but said nothing. Instead, he placed a hand on her waist and held her hand with the other. Mikasa followed him without question, for this was her first time dancing with anyone aside from her father years ago.

He began moving slowly and set the tempo with the music for the two of them. Mikasa watched curiously at their feet moving in sync, despite her stumbling here and there in the beginning.

"Are you sure this is your first dance?" He asked as they swayed to the beat, "Because you're doing surprisingly well."

"I guess I pick up on things fast," Mikasa shrugged, "and I've danced with my dad a couple times when he was still around."

"Oh," Eren dropped her hand to loop both arms around her waist, "What happened? If you don't mind me asking."

The question spiked anger throughout her body. She dug her nails into the palm of her hand, thankful that the lack of light hid her clenched jaw.

"He died in a car crash. Two years ago." She responded icily. Mikasa smirked inwardly at his reaction. He tensed a bit; it was a miniscule reaction to the average person, but Mikasa was observing him intently. "But what about you? Where'd you learn to dance?"

"Ah, my mom taught me when I was little. I used to put my feet on top of hers and try to balance while she took lead." He smiled sadly at the memory.

"You're close to your mom?" She asked as they danced.

"I was. She died last year. And frankly I don't know where my dad fucked off to after she passed."

Mikasa hummed sympathetically. _Serves you fucking right. Suffer._ "I was close to my mom, too." Her eyes did not speak, but her voice was soft.

"You lost both?" He looked at her sadly.

"Yeah. She was in the car with my dad when a drunk driver killed them both."

Eren's feet stuttered at the information. Her eyes narrowed, "Where did you go?" Mikasa prodded gently, the softness of her voice truly betraying the hardness of her heart. And though she already knew of the dispute going on in his head, her voice brought him back to reality. Eren released her waist solemnly and instead reached for her hand.

"Nothing, I'm sorry you had to go through that. Come on, let's grab something to eat."

"Yeah, let's." _Asshole,_ she scowled to herself, _stop playing innocent and fess up._

Mikasa never knew that there was so much to learn about coffee. There were things that existed such as an Affogato, which apparently was vanilla ice cream "drowned" in espresso. And then there was this thing called cold drip coffee that took way too long to make in her opinion, but she felt like Levi would enjoy himself. He was always the more patient sibling, anyway, just like their mother. Then she learned that the reason it was called a latte was because there was _milk_ in it, and that an Americano was just a shot of espresso diluted in water. The young woman was never much of a coffee drinker, but when she helped herself to the occasional cup, it was the type that had you saying, "I think there's coffee in your creamer."

Long story short, she was very confused when Eren had brought her in front of the menu and she was put on the spot to choose off an elaborate menu. Thanks to her lack of practice in social situations, she was fumbling with her words and her face flushed a bright red until she tugged on Eren's sleeve to just order for her so she could go sink into the wall by herself. Luckily Sasha, the cashier, was nice enough to explain everything with patience and got oddly riled up when she got on the topic of dipping biscuits in coffee. Mikasa concluded that maybe they could have been friends if they were given a chance in another life.

Much to her distaste, Mikasa felt her chest ease up and the muscles in her arms and legs fell lax the more time she spent with the man. He was charming, and cute, and cared about her a lot more than she had expected. Frankly, she originally thought that that the fact that Eren wears his heart on his sleeve was inevitably going to lead to his downfall by her hand. It was funny, considering when she picked him up after his shift earlier that night, Mikasa was already armed and prepared to cut his life short thirty years. But at the end of the night, the mere thought of having to put a bullet in his head made her sick, and angry with herself for a plethora of reasons she couldn't quite put her finger on.

So when he went to the bathroom at the quaint coffee shop nuzzled in the corner of the street, Mikasa was left alone with her problematic thoughts. She had buried her face in the palms of her hand and debated. _You're going to disappoint Levi,_ her brain reminded her, _but are you really willing to kill off the only guy you brought yourself to care for? Mikasa, really think about this,_ her heart argued. While her insides whirred up in confusion and frustration, her physical body was left weak and vulnerable as she chewed on her lip and fumbled with her phone. Her brows met in the middle as she sent a quick text to her brother.

 _ **to: aniki**_

 _ **Finishing up coffee. Be home in thirty, probably.**_

But then Sasha was suddenly in front of her, setting down another cup of the vanilla latte she ordered twenty minutes ago with a sympathetic look on her soft face.

"You looked a little muddled, so I thought I'd bring you another cup, you know?" Sasha beamed and Mikasa was weirded out by how nice she was, "And don't worry about it! It's on the house. Just," the brunette leaned forward, "I know a first date when I see one, and I also see the way you look at each other like he's the sun to your moon- or whatever cheesy analogy floats your boat (. It's probably not my place to say anything, but don't let someone like that slip away."

Mikasa just looked at her with wide eyes and a red face. "I- uh," the raven fumbled with the money in her wallet before shoving what she thought was the appropriate amount of money into Sasha's smaller palm. "I know you said it's on the house, but I want to thank you. You have no idea how much I appreciate what you just said." _Also, you're a goddess,_ she decided to leave out.

Sasha smiled one of the most brightest ones she's seen in awhile and bowed, leaving her to her extra cup of coffee. Mikasa opened her messages with her brother once more after he didn't respond and quickly typed another one.

 _ **to: aniki**_

 _ **Nevermind lol I got another cup**_

 _ **from: aniki**_

 _ **Good luck sleeping tonight.**_

Eren came back shortly after and eyed the cute latte art in front of her. "Wow, I didn't expect you to like this place this much. Thought you weren't that big on caffeine?" he joked. Mikasa laughed her first genuine laugh in months.

"Sasha gave it to me. She said it was on the house." Mikasa decided not to say anything about the barista helping her decide what to do during her crisis.

"Oh, I see," he jokingly put on a jealous face. "Did you tell her you were here with me tonight?"

Mikasa rolled her eyes, "Dork."

By the end of the night, her heart was beating a little faster and she couldn't tell if it was from the caffeine pumping through her system, or the fact that Eren held her hand while he walked her to the front of her hotel and was currently leaning in very _very_ close to her face. She could feel a warm puff of air on her cheeks and her eyes fluttered shut. When he ever so gently pressed his lips against hers, Mikasa suddenly didn't know what to do with her hands and she debated pushing him away and punching him in the face, or just going with it. She ended up going with the latter.

Still, it didn't change the fact that she didn't know what the fuck to do. Mikasa kissed him back, obviously because she wasn't going to let this gorgeous green eyed man go without kissing him back, but she still remained tense. Tense enough for him to notice and pull away much to her disapproval. He rested their foreheads together.

"You okay?" He asked quietly. The street around them had suddenly gotten flushed out and quiet when he looked at her like that. She almost forgot that he killed her parents.

"Yeah," she said breathlessly, "that was um, that was my first kiss."

He grinned his usual shit eating grin and Mikasa pushed him away, red.

"Sorry, sorry," he pecked her cheek, "You're just too cute." Mikasa smiled and shook her head abashedly.

"I gotta go. My brother is probably looking for me," She rocked back and forth on her heels and Eren let go of her hands. "Goodnight, Eren." To his surprise, she leaned up to kiss his cheek, and turned on her heel to walk into the hotel lobby.

"Mikasa?"

She turned at her name. "Eren."

"How… how long are you staying here? Don't you have like, a real place to stay here?"

Mikasa shook her head sadly, "No, we're leaving in a month." _Depends on how long it takes for me to kill you._

She turned once more and walked away before she could watch his face fall.

When she entered the elevator, Mikasa couldn't help but bury her nose into her red scarf to hide her stupid, dopey smile. But as she exited the elevator, she knew she'd get her ass whooped if Levi ever found out she had actually fallen for Eren.

The room is dark save for the lamp turned on by Levi's bed. He's sitting in bed, a plate of food in his hands as he shovels pasta in his mouth. Ungracefully he looks up from his computer after pausing his show, greeting his little sister.

"You're back," he nodded. Mikasa hummed quietly and set her purse down at the foot of her bed. She slipped into the bathroom to change to her pajamas. "And it's past midnight."

"I know," she crammed her clothes into the bag of dirty laundry, "which is why I'm wondering why you're eating so late. And in bed for that matter, since you're so anal about getting food on the sheets."

"I got home late from a hit," he explained and took another bite, "and I'm not giving you any because that Jaeger kid was supposed to feed you."

"He did. Though I'm pretty sure he's not gonna be able to spend for a while after tonight." Clad in a tank top and sweatpants, Mikasa plopped herself next to Levi and opened the laptop. "Did you know there's so much more shit to coffee than just cream and sugar?"

"Of course, I forget how high maintenance you can be," Levi rolled his eyes. "How was your hot date?"

"It was good," she chirped, "he kissed me."

"He what."

"Eren kissed me." Mikasa repeated, "He took me to Kim Kwang Seok Alley. I mentioned a couple times before that he was my favorite artist. And that dad played his music sometimes."

"Oh, so now he gives a shit about our parents." Levi quipped. Mikasa ignored him.

"We danced to 'If It Hurts Too Much, It's Not Love', and then he took me to a coffee shop and we talked. When he dropped me off at the hotel, he kissed me goodbye."

"I see you're getting pretty smitten with him, huh," he pried, glancing at her from the side.

"I guess so. But that's the goal right?" She hit the spacebar and 'Criminal Minds' played in the back while the siblings spoke.

"It is, it is." Levi assured, "But I would like him dead soon."

Mikasa hummed, uncomfortable. "Maybe I should stretch it out a little more," she suggested.

"What?"

"I mean," the young woman tried to recover, "if I can get him to become even more attached, then it'll hurt him more when he goes."

Levi eyed her warily, "You know little sister," Mikasa rolls her eyes at that, "I know when you're lying to me."

"I know, but good thing I'm not." She said quietly, "You're still trying to see through me, huh?" Levi snorted.

"Please, I don't need to try to see through you. You're an open book to me." There was a slight tint of condescension in his tone and Mikasa had to bite her tongue not to talk back and start an argument. She loved her brother dearly. He was all she had left, but it became overbearing whenever he would act like this: like he knew her inside and out. Even if she told him everything, Mikasa was a reserved person and still needed to keep somethings for herself.

"Oi, Mikasa," he nudged her out of her train of thought, "You know I trust you. I trust that you'll do the right thing and avenge mom and dad for us. I may act like an asshole sometimes-"

" _Sometimes_?"

"But," he dismissed her shot at him, "I do this because I care about you. Our jobs are not easy, and every day we work we put our lives on the line. You're strong, but you're not immortal. And I'm not about to lose my only sister. If that Eren kid ever tries anything-"

Mikasa clicked her tongue in annoyance and payfully shoved him away, "I know, I know, I can take care of myself." She laughed, and let her head rest on her brother's shoulder, "Thank you, Aniki."

He said nothing, only lifting a hand to ruffle her hair the way he always did.

"Hey." She interrupted the show, "Do you think we'll get caught like that one day?"

"Hm. Maybe," he admitted, earning a look from Mikasa, "Relax, Fritz always finds a way to cover it up, make it look like an accident or whatever. Truthfully I don't know what the hell that old man does behind his desk."

"Yeah. That man smokes so much even I can almost taste the phlegm in his lungs." Levi scoffed at that, "Speaking of which, how did work go? Erwin, right?"

The older man groaned at the sound of his name, "Yeah, it was alright. I sniped him from a skyscraper across from his hotel. He was a handsome son of a bitch, such a shame he had to die. It makes me wonder what he did to piss off Fritz."

She fidgeted with the hem of her tank and bit the inside of her lip, "We all have our secrets."

It was cold. Without her scarf, at least, the past couple of weeks she had gotten used to the fabric wrapped comfortably around her neck. Mikasa laid on her stomach at the top of the building perpendicular to Eren's shop with Levi's sniper rifle snugly pressed against her shoulder. The young woman had a clear shot of him from where she was settled. She looked through the scope and took a deep breath when the center was aligned with Eren's head. Her forefinger danced around the trigger flexing and then relaxing when she felt the tension build up and almost sent a bullet flying. Mikasa inhaled long and exhaled slowly. She could end this right now. She could send the thick bullet through his skull and no one would even find out. Hell, Levi didn't even know she came out here in broad daylight. Mikasa was sent to kill him, and that's exactly what she was going to do. Because fuck emotions, right? They were useless.

The young woman sucked her bottom lip under her teeth and bit down. _You follow orders, Mikasa, don't stop anytime soon._ She scoffed and berated herself for her reluctance.

It became increasingly harder to grip the rifle within her calloused hands and her fingers were way too fidgety to execute this properly. She shifted the butt of the rifle to press more against her shoulder, and squeezed the grip harder nonetheless and pressed her index against the trigger. Mikasa pulled the trigger further and further until she imagined it could snap- and then stopped.

She let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding and tore her eyes away from her target, her hands losing their death grip completely as her forehead dropped to the butt of the gun.

Mikasa could end this now and avenge her parents, even make her brother proud. But at what cost? She'd lose any possible feeling in her heart she had somehow managed to salvage the past few weeks and live her life wondering if she could ever return to the life she dreamed of as a child.

Okay, maybe feelings weren't all that useless.

"Fuck." Mikasa grit out and brought herself back up to a sitting position. She unscrewed the silencer and detached the loaded magazine. Flipping the safety switch on, she placed the rifle back in its case and slammed it shut, looking at the sleek black material with a lingering thought. With a final shake of her head, she climbed down the side of the building and made her way back to her hotel.

She paid him a visit that night. When she told Levi about her whereabouts, he gave the universal grunt of approval that sent her out the door.

"Hey stranger," he smiled brightly, "you come here often?"

Mikasa rolled her eyes and chuckled. "I have a really clingy friend who works here and always asks me over."

Eren feigned offense. "Friend?" Mikasa walked behind him and squeezed his shoulder.

"We're working out a label," she retorted and plopped down onto the stool Mikasa always sat in when she was there.

Mikasa would be lying if she said it felt awkward between them. It wasn't uncomfortable or anything, but there _was_ an elephant in the room. They haven't spoken ever since the kiss, and the fact that she was only staying in Daegu for a short amount of time lingered in the air. It's been two whole days, and frankly Eren would have thought Mikasa ditched him if another day went by without a word from her.

"Everything okay?" His question cut through the silence. Mikasa hummed in response, but he wasn't convinced. "Something's on your mind. Is that why you haven't been responding to my texts…?" The brunet leaned forward on the counter, nodding a hello to a customer that came in.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm not a great texter. I'm better in person," She chuckled at the misunderstanding. Mikasa's eyes darted towards the person clad in all black that had walked in not long ago. Her eyes narrowed at his hunched shoulders, bowed head, hands stuffed into his pocket; she knew that body language all too well. Mikasa's seen it in her bathroom mirror far too many times.

 _Something's in his pockets. He's avoiding the cameras, and he's been standing still in that aisle too long to actually be interested in purchasing something._ Mikasa felt herself twitch when the masked man shifted his hand, seemingly gripping something tighter. She stood up suddenly and Eren was taken aback when she stood to her full height without any warning. Granted she was still shorter than him, but that didn't mean her aura wasn't terrifying on its own.

"Mikasa?" His eyes followed her line of sight towards the figure walking towards them now. Her gaze hardened. If looks could kill, the man would have dropped dead already. _Don't touch him._

"Eren." she shifted closer to him, placing her hands on his hips that had him spluttering a combination of "what are you doing" and "here?". Mikasa managed to press his back to the wall with hers facing the potential danger.

The click of a gun caught her attention and Eren felt himself freeze as if he were a deer in headlights. Slowly, Mikasa turned around to face the gunman.

It took everything in her not to scoff. The man held the gun sideways, his grip crooked and elbow slightly bent. She had to give it to him, though, he had quite the intimidating face.

"Listen, honey. As cute as you are, I won't hesitate to pull this trigger." He swept his gun to the side in an attempt to get Mikasa to move over so he could point the muzzle at Eren. She didn't budge, and he was losing patience. "Give me your fucking money!" He bellowed, and Mikasa would have been intimidated if she hadn't already dealt with this level of immaturity.

"Are you kidding me." Her eyes would have rolled to the back of her head if she hadn't felt Eren move out from behind her. He stepped boldly in front of her, his right arm sticking out to hopefully shield her from danger.

"Mikasa, stay behind me."

She looked down at his arm with disdain and raised an eyebrow.

"You guys are cute. But if you don't empty out that cash register in ten seconds then you'll have to watch me blow a bullet in your girlfriend's brain."

"Listen, man, there's no money in the register. The day just started-"

"I don't need to hear your bullshit excuses!" The gunman straightened his grip to a proper position and Mikasa stiffened. She'll step in when she needed to. She'd let him play hero for a bit. "Open the _fucking_ register!" He pressed the barrel against Eren's forehead. Anger flashed in the brunet's eyes.

"Okay." He slowly put his hands up, making his way around Mikasa and over to the much-desired register. "Relax, I'll get you your money."

Mikasa sighed, watching him with wary eyes. She knew what he was going to do. Eren was going to say he'd get him the money, then reach for the broom last minute and try to hit the gun out of his hands. _If this guy is an amateur like I suspect, he'd panic and pull the trigger before Eren could even grab the broom. Eren would be critically injured, if not dead, and he can't afford that. But, if this guy has more experience than I give him credit for, he'd shoot me first and have Eren watch me die before shooting him and running off with whatever money was in the register._ Mikasa carefully calculated the situation in her head and evaluated her options before jumping into action. _No. Eren has to be my kill, not yours._

Eren did exactly what she thought he'd do. The brunet hit the masked man in the arm, taking the barrel away from his face but unfortunately not out of his hand. The intruder scoffed angrily and pointed the gun at Eren once again after regaining his lazy composure. Fortunately, however, the gunman was even more of an amateur than she expected, and fumbled with the gun before realizing that the safety was _on._

Mikasa bit back a laugh before walking in front of the gun. Eren called out her name from behind her but she said nothing, merely slapping the gun out of his hands by swatting the inside of his forearm and the back of the gunman's hand in opposite directions. She twisted the firearm until it was snug in her hand, bringing a knee up to the man's gut and watched him keel over in surprise. Mikasa brought the butt of the gun down to the juncture of his neck and shoulder and he cried out in pain.

She gripped the gun firmly in her right hand and switched the safety off, pointing it towards the former gunman. "Get out, idiot."

The said man was scrambling to his feet and out the door within seconds of hearing her voice.

When it was just Eren and Mikasa again, she glanced down at the gun. It was a simple gun, a Ruger SR22. It's size wasn't too intimidating but a bullet is a bullet nonetheless. She released the magazine and saw that it was only halfway full with five bullets loaded. She clicked her tongue in annoyance and turned to face Eren, who was still too shell-shocked to say anything.

"So the idiot's lack of gun knowledge just saved your life. If he had known to turn off safety then he could have killed you before I stepped in."

Eren's brain short-circuited before he began scolding her for her "reckless behavior".

She stood there and took it as he went on a tangent, yelling various forms of "I can't lose you" and "You could have died, idiot!"

"Eren," she sighed, exasperated, "I'm fine. You're the one he was threatening, anyway. Besides, I'm a trained martial artist. I've been training with my brother since we were little, I think I know how to handle situations like that."

"Okay, but still!" Eren threw his hands up in the air, "You could have _told_ me beforehand you're trained. You scared the shit out of me, throwing yourself in front of a gun like that! Don't pull that shit, Mikasa, don't put your life on the line for me."

Mikasa almost laughed at the irony of the situation. The only reason she saved his life is because she wanted the kill for herself later. Maybe. Once she got over her stupid feelings, perhaps. "Okay, yes. If it eases your anxiety then you have my word." The young woman placed the gun on the counter, this time intentionally putting the safety on, before sliding it over to him. "But look, at least you have a gun now! Use it to protect this place, or whatever you macho men do."

"Macho," he repeated, "you're the one who saved my ass, Mikasa."

"Yeah, and it might not be the last time." She teased, smiling when he turned red and frowned.

"Anyway," Eren sighed and placed the gun in the drawer under the cash register, "there's this festival coming up that I've been meaning to go to for the longest time but never had money for it. I managed to save up some luxury money for it and I'd love it if you went with me."

Mikasa snorted. "Eren Jaeger, are you asking me out on another date?"

"Depends. Is it working?"

She sighed, defeated. "Yeah. When is it?" Mikasa took a step forward and looped her arms around his neck, catching him by surprise.

"September 22, the end of this month," his hands fell on her hips, "will you still be here then?"

Her mind jumped to her mission at the question.

 _If I go to this festival to him, I can pull him aside somewhere dark. We'll talk, and I'll have him dance with me. I can kill him then, and then go home. Miserable, but I can go home._

Her stomach churned at the thought nonetheless. She loved the guy, she really did. It sucked ass that she has to kill him. For a moment, Mikasa thought what would happen if she dropped everything, including the mission, and ran off with Eren.

"Mikasa?" He squeezed her side to bring her back to attention.

"Hm?"

"Will you still be in town by the end of this month?" He raised an eyebrow at the subtle shift in her attitude. She went from quirky and cute to distant and dull.

Mikasa let out a fake smile. "Yeah. Yeah I'll still be here by then. I think I'm leaving the day after, actually."

"Oh," his face fell, and she shuffled a little closer to him, "okay."

"Try not to look so disappointed. It won't be the last time we hang out, I promise." she lied through her teeth and suddenly she almost felt her breakfast come back up. "I have to go. I'll swing by after your shift and we can grab dinner, yeah?"

Mikasa cupped the back of his head affectionately. For a woman who killed men for a living, she was getting the hang of this whole "I kinda like you" shit.

Eren grinned his signature shit-eating grin. "Mikasa Ackerman, are you asking me on a second date?"

"Shut up." She rolled her eyes with a laugh. Mikasa pulled him down for a brief moment to press her lips against his. It lingered a second too long as if it were an apology, an ' _I'm sorry for lying to you.'_ but she pulled away before the kiss would spill her entire story. The raven haired woman pulled herself from Eren's hold and squeezed his hand. "I'll see you later."

True to her word, she showed up again after his shift in a simple knitted white turtleneck hanging over a tight black velvet skirt that stopped mid thigh; black heeled boots hugged her legs all the way up to her knees but showed enough skin to leave the rest to his imagination. Mikasa ran a hand through her long braided hair draped across one shoulder and smiled at him expectantly.

"You ready?" His shoulders slumped.

"Mikasaaa," he whined, "you're all dressed up and I look so sloppy. Are you taking me somewhere fancy because my wallet is more of a McDonald's enthusiast."

"Eren," she laughed and rolled her eyes at the mention of his wallet, "you look fine. You kinda look like a dad with that shirt tucked into those jeans but it's not bad at all!" She waved him off jokingly, "I'm covering dinner tonight, don't worry about it."

Twenty minutes later they sat down at some fancy noodle house by the music alley they went down the other day. Eren had seen it many times before but never bothered to go inside, thinking it would hurt his bank account just by walking in.

A young waiter with kind eyes who went by the name Marco came by soon after they were seated with a plate of various appetizers and glasses.

"Can I get you two anything to drink?"

Mikasa smiled with her chin in the palm of her hands. "We'll have a bottle of Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon."

"Absolutely. That'll be right out." And Marco was off.

Eren gawked at her. "I have no idea what any of those words meant but it sounded extremely expensive. I mean- _sitting_ here alone is expensive- plus a tip! What… what do you work as? As a nineteen year old, too… Only thing that comes to mind is being a stripper."

Mikasa raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, exactly that."

The gears in Eren's brain sputtered, "Wait, really?!"

She chuckled and shook her head, "Sarcasm, sweetie."

"Oh, that's… comforting? I guess," Eren leaned back in his seat, "so what _do_ you work as? Think I'm qualified for a job as well-paying as that?"

She popped a calamari in her mouth and smiled. "Please."

He looked at her, confused, before Marco came in between them. He smiled wordlessly and began filling their glasses before hastily taking the rest of their order. Which, had Eren still in disbelief at the amount of money she was spending. Marco bowed and left with a signature "The food will be out shortly," and left the wine bottle on the side.

"Loosen up, Eren. Don't worry so much about money right now." Mikasa cupped the glass from the bottom with the palm of her hand and tipped it back.

Eren opened his mouth to respond when another voice interrupted.

"Mikasa?"

Her head whipped towards the direction of the voice. There Levi stood by their table, forcing a smile and nodding a greeting towards Eren before turning his attention to his sister.

"Aniki, what are you doing here?" She frowned.

"I don't even get an introduction?" He imitated her face.

Eren's eyes darted between their identical frowns. Wow, it was almost like they were related.

Mikasa huffed and straightened up. "Levi, this is Eren, the guy I've been telling you about for a while. Eren, this is my brother, Levi."

She watched with pain in her eyes as Levi shook Eren's hand with unnecessary strength that had the younger man flinching away.

"Good to finally meet you. I've heard _a lot_ about you."

"U-uh. You, too, sir." Eren spluttered. Levi's intimidating gaze down towards him nearly had him choking.

Mikasa cringed. She knew how much Levi didn't like being called 'sir' and before he could say anything- because she saw his posture change and his face morph- she spoke up once again.

"Levi, what are you doing here?" she repeated.

"I'm here with a _client._ " He answered, glancing towards a table with a single woman sitting in it. She had a pixie cut; blonde hair tickling the back of her neck while she angrily spoke into the phone. Her sharp nose and glinting blue eyes matched her pricey way of dressing. She had sharp shoulders and a dramatic dip in her collarbone. Her long, pale legs that were crossed under the table ended at black stilettos. Mikasa slightly heard her conversation from where she sat, "Mike, you idiot, you had one job!"

Mikasa let out a small smirk. She knew an undercover agent when she saw one.

"So, Eren, have my sister back at the hotel by ten." And Eren was ready to fiercely nod his head yes and _apologize_ \- frankly, he didn't even know what for- but Mikasa quickly showed distaste at the curfew by shaking her head aggressively.

"That's too early, the agreement is always midnight."

Levi cocked an eyebrow. "Sorry, I didn't know you had any other plans for tonight." His eyes darted between the two. He lingered at the table and Mikasa wanted to ask 'why are you still here' but of course, he had to open his mouth once again.

"So how long have you two been having sex?"

This time, Eren really did choke.

Mikasa blanked. Too many emotions ran through her right now for her to choose one to act on.

"I don't understand the question."

"We-we're not- we're not having sex, Levi! Uh. _Sir._ Uh. Mr. Ackerman?" Eren flailed his arms around.

Jesus, Mikasa wanted to sink into the wall. Levi wanted to laugh at how submissive he was being. He almost understood why Mikasa wanted to draw this out so long; Eren was kind of a pathetic thing in his eyes.

"Just Levi is fine, Eren. Mr. Ackerman was my father." The use of past tense didn't slip by the younger male.

"Levi. We've just been going on dates. Now go meet with your client. Please." There was a look in her eyes that Levi was able to read, and Mikasa thanked the gods for their weird telepathic abilities.

"Fine. Midnight. I'll see you then."

The older Ackerman walked away and Mikasa let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

"God, I'm so sorry, Eren. He's like that sometimes."

"Don't worry about it," he dismissed her apology, heartbeat returning to a normal, healthier pace, "he's protective. I get that. He takes care of you when I can't."

His response left Mikasa wordless, so she smiled fondly at him instead. "Thank you."

"He's scary as shit, though." Mikasa laughed.

Marco had to butt in one more time with their dishes and set them in front of them accordingly, offering any more of his service before he was dismissed one more time. Mikasa sighed and made brief eye contact with Levi. His gaze was hard, almost unreadable, but Mikasa sent a transparent look that said " _Just trust me."_

Eren hummed in delight at the sight of the food and spread out his napkin across his lap.

"Let's eat?"

 _A/N: Yessss chapter three is done. My favorite chapter so far. Two more to go! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Leave me some love in the reviews~_


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